You'd probably picture some winsome soprano singing the Queen of the Night and Zerbinetta, not a big, bearded tenor who sings Peter Grimes. But that's how composer Brett Dean and librettist Matthew Jocelyn describe Allan Clayton, for whom they wrote the title role in their Hamlet. - The New York Times
Two major projects were launched in 2017 aimed at getting more female acts on stages - ReBalance and KeyChange - after a BBC study had found around 80% of headliners were all-male. Five years on, new analysis by the BBC indicates there's been little change at the top of the bills. - BBC
"In a city that ... became used to wailing air-raid sirens and the thuds of artillery from the suburbs, the audience was instead treated to the frothy melodies of Rossini's The Barber of Seville." But they're limiting the audience to 300 people so they can evacuate quickly if necessary. - The Observer (UK)
This isn’t to say opera shouldn’t be political — though I’m thoroughly skeptical of its ability to tackle social issues in a way that isn’t preaching to the choir — but that there should be equilibrium and variety. Where’s the balance? Where’s the funny? - San Francisco Classical Voice
It’s called “frisson,” and it’s the reason why music from artists featured on a recently released, scientifically-backed playlist of songs that researchers claim are likely to give people “chills.” - Big Think
It’s hard to figure out how many people are making a middle-class living on music streaming, but I note that you don’t earn the minimum wage on Spotify until you generate more than 3 million streams per year. - Ted Gioia
Sure, ABBA are doing it now, but what's next - recreated Liszt concerts? (We'd probably need video for that - but who knows what the future may hold?) - The Observer (UK)
His band Aphrodite's Child created "1972’s astonishing double concept album 666, which delivered 77 minutes of wildly experimental music that touched on jazz, proto-metal, prog and stuff that still defies explication." - The Guardian (UK)
Orchestra director Iolanta Pryshlyak, who also coordinates a flow of medical and humanitarian supplies, said, "War makes your heart like a stone. ... But music can soften it again." - The New York Times
The English composer, now remembered primarily as a firebrand suffragette, and librettist Henry Brewster wrote this story (of Cornish villagers who survive by plundering shipwrecks) in French. But it was produced, with cuts, first in German, then in English, then not at all. This summer sees the original version's premiere. - The Guardian
She came to prominence as co-founder of string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops, moved to a solo career, and now directs the Silkroad Ensemble, the world-music group founded by Yo-Yo Ma. But she trained as an opera singer, and her first opera is now premiering at Spoleto USA. - The New York Times
We begin with the hypothesis that, due to the rate of growth and development of A.I. technology, #resistanceisfutile. Which is to say that computer-composed music is here, and the conversation needs to change. - NewMusicBox
Not all of these women are forgotten: Clara Rockmore (the first virtuoso of the theremin) and Pauline Oliveros are remembered, and Wendy Carlos, Eliane Radigue, and Laurie Anderson are still with us. But there were also Daphne Oram, Delia Derbyshire, Maryanne Amacher, Jacqueline Nova ... - BBC
The Vltava Philharmonic Hall, which will be the home of the Czech Philharmonic and the FOK Prague Symphony, will have auditoriums of 1,800, 700 and 500 seats (acoustics by Nagata, Yasuhisa Toyota's firm) as well as a major hub for the Czech capital's public library system. - Prague Morning
A year and a half after the school acquired the management agency Opus 3 Artists, it has done the same with Pentatone Music, an audiophile classical-music label launched in the Netherlands in 2001 by execs who left Philips Classics after it was acquired by Universal. - San Francisco Classical Voice
